How many miles are on your 1st Gen Tacoma

117k...all by me since brand new.

 

Got anymore pictures of this??
You park on beach and fish off this lol?

 

He's living the good life huh? I thought same exact thing when I saw it

 

Thought those were antennas when I first saw them

 

I'm at just a little less miles at 245K. Similar leak. Oil was motor oil and not transmission. After looking at it over and over, I noticed it was leaking from the top of that area as well. So mine is more of a valve cover gasket leak. Wonder if yours is the same.

 

Hold up, they did? Just sand and mag chloride on certain roads here as far as I know.

To keep things on topic, 169k when I bought it, 210k now.

 

341,000 on my 01' everything is still stock except for the tires they are 265/75/16. 2.7L 4 banger, 5 speed, no major problems so far, I have had to replace a leaking radiator, alternator, and just replaced the first valve cover gasket. I still drive it back and forth to work everyday (80 mile round trip) and it run as good as a new one.

 

Growing up in eagle county that's all I remember them using was mag cloride. My parents would wash their vehicles every week in the winter.

 

the VCG was original still?

mine started leaking at just over 111k

oh maybe the 3.4 is a bit different than 2.7 idk

 

Same looking "leak" as mine. I did the valve cover gaskets this past spring? (I must start keeping a list) & that "leak" has definitely dried up. = not a leak.... I hope....

I probably am in the top 10 for hall of shame Tacoma neglect, one of the many reasons being I didn't do mine (3.4) until 235,000-ish. They were beyond pretty needy. I have heard the 3.4's are more prone to leakage than the 2.7's.

 

Story goes, I came pretty darned close to being named Carla.... It actually all hinged on what team won the World Series.... Red Sox lost, so Kristi it was....

 

Now that makes for some great stories

 

It was the original. When I removed the valve cover the bolts were not tight and I probably could have gotten by with just tightening the bolt down. When I pulled the gasket out of the groove in the valve cover there were no cracks and it was still very flexible. I drove this one off the lot in March of 2001 and have been the only one to drive it and the only one to do maintenance for the last 19 years and 341,000 miles. The 2.7 is about as bulletproof an engine as you will find, do your routine maintenance on it and they will keep on running.

 

69k on the 97

 

How much did you shorten the bed?

 

Coming up on 89k, had it since 2016 and 24k miles.

 

It's never had a valve cover gasket replacement. Will be doing that soon then. Thanks!

 

Been pondering your issues probably so I can avoid mine....
The seam between the wheel trim & the body, seal it with whatever of your choice. Obviously you want it to look good, however this is subjective. So it could be black caulk or weatherstrip or clear nail polish.... I used some weatherstrip which was ok. I had to use some super glue in spots. It was November & Oct/Nov is when we typically try to get done any outdoor stuff. AKA, it was a "good enough for now" thing cuz there was still leaves to rake, etc. I had originally intended to do the paint job in the spring, but life took over my life & ya got'a roll with it or piss & moan & get dragged by it or maybe at times, a little of both.... Anywho, I think this spring I will change it to a weatherstrip with a flat edge to go along the top. I mean the idea is to not trap water & while this stuff looks nice & was a decent price, it's a little too rounded. It works good where the passenger & driver's window seal start leaking....

So that's my 1st suggest. My second is to primer & paint & then fluid film or whatever you choose. I painted my frame two summers ago. I tried a few different things. Wherever I used Por 15 it peeled or is still peeling off. Why? I suck at thoroughly & properly preparing surfaces especially of that size. Also, I believe Por 15 is for surfaces with no paint cuz what I have noticed is that where it is peeling is where there was original frame paint. So, enough about that. Luckily I did not pour all my blood, sweat & tears into the Por 15. In fact I may have started that three summers ago, got life jacked & it even missed the nov cut off. Didn't I say Enough about that?
Moving on.... at some point I went the rustoleum route. Rusty metal primer, matte black professional (they perfected the upside down can thing) & then FF. Now I am not saying it's the perfect answer. There are spots/patches where it peeled, came off, whatever. But I'll tell ya, when I am displaying the virtues of FF to someone who has never heard of it, I bring them over to the truck & have them swipe their finger along the passenger, yes, passenger, side of the frame right under the door. Still has its paint from two years ago, a nice coat of FF & a splash of sand to keep it in place. I actually think that's key. Coat it & take it for a ride down a dirt road, kick up some dust, get it nice & coated. Anywho, it's funny cuz you can't see the FF on the frame where the paint is & then they swipe.... There's a commercial here somewhere....
I also think that the FF sticks better to matte than glossy, as I also have some gloss in spots & it doesn't take as well. Nor does the paint itself. Thicker? I dunno. The other good thing about painting is you don't have to be as freaked out about non-FF spots. In other words, if some does wash off you have the paint there.
I would do a good thin coat with the primer. Maybe even do a gray so you can see if you missed any rust spots. Wait a day or two or a little longer. See if any rust shows through. Do a second coat anyway, but it just feels good to be sure you got it thoroughly. Maybe you'll have to do three. More thin coats are better than less thick (says the one who has paint droolage due to impatience )....
One last note for now - I have not looked into them, but Eastwood is another brand of rust coating, more on the paint end, that people swear by. A search on here should bring up posts. I think there's someone who somehow pours a gal of it inside his frame to protect it. I may search that out myself. If for no other reason than I am intrigued at exactly how he pulls the whole thing off....

My 16 cents....

 

4 more cents -
Same with the tailgate & any other spots that crop up. I don't necessarily FF every spot, but say the one on the bottom left of the tailgate or the seam of the doorstep, I hand sand it, a coat of primer, paint & boila! & of course trying to get some extra FF inside the tailgate at that corner, etc....